Chuck D once called hip-hop the black CNN because the music gave a voice to the voiceless. Now that hip-hop is a global phenomenon, it’s the CNN, BBC, and Al Jazeera of marginalized people everywhere.
The Eastside is the place to be this weekend starting with an early show Thursday at the Scoot Inn. Palestinian trio DAM uses beats and rhymes to protest what they describe as terroristic acts by the Israeli military and government, a massive wall separating the West Bank from Israel, and the repression of a stateless people. The video for “Who’s the Terrorist?” opens with former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark calling Palestinians the most terrorized people on Earth before the group raps in Arabic, “Your countless raping of the Arabs’ soul finally impregnated it, gave birth to your child, his name: Suicide Bomber. And then you call him a terrorist?”
If you’re looking for hip-hop with substance look no further. These guys make Dead Prez look like Soulja Boy. Throwing up West Side seems silly when you consider the constant harassment, checkpoints, and threat of violence Arabs live with in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The story of DAM and other Palestinian rappers like Mohammed Al-Farra, also performing at the Scoot Inn, is told in the 2008 documentary Slingshot Hip Hop. Show starts at 8pm.
Friday night, go from the Middle East to Memphis. Local R&B outfit T-Bird & the Breaks turns the Victory Grill into Soulsville USA, celebrating the great soul label Stax Records. The band kicks things off doing the “Philly Dog” and keeps it moving with “Memphis Train,” but saves heavy hitters like “Shaft,” “Green Onions,” “Hold On I’m Comin’” and “Try a Little Tenderness” for the third and final set. The show has the blessing of the resurrected label and some proceeds will benefit the Stax Music Academy in Memphis.
This article appears in May 2 • 2008.
